Sunday, November 16, 2008

An unexpected inheritance

Foreigners who can document Korean ancestry can qualify for the South Korean national health insurance.

Sally Im, a Korean-American from Honolulu, recently traveled to Wooridul for back surgery. After her husband paid two months’ worth of premiums — about $90 — on their arrival, a portion of Ms. Im’s medical bill was covered by the South Korean government. The couple ended up spending $3,200, rather than the $30,000 that her operation would have cost in the United States, Wooridul said.--Choe Sang-Hun, NYT, on a little-known backstop available to ethnic Koreans